What a comprehensive and enjoyable answer you delivered. It is comparative knowledge such as this that is useful to beginners who mostly see big marketing ads by big conglomerates such as Prada. I will most definitely take your advice and stick with Meermin.

Cordiali saluti,

Johan.

Always glad to help ,

I'm really no expert... I took a leap of faith with Meermin (and 1th time went wrong, I choose wronge size ship them back and waited another month over the 2 I had already waited).

But now I can defenetly say are the best shoes price vs quality I have, style again is subjective but the only shoes I like better are Ed Green and Crockett&Jones that unluckly I probably never will be able to afford in my life.

Polite shoes wise I have : 2 chuch's , 1 edward green , 1 meermin and 1 pair of Tod's(that are complete shit but I bought for 89 euro on sales so... what the hell). Off couse edward green are off the chart (were my uncle's and are pretty old and used) ; there is a shop in my town where they sell very nice clothes (kiton, isaia, ed green, john lobb , caruso ,cantarelli borrelli barba... etc) and believe it or not the owner after seeing on my feet the Meermin asked me where I bought them, when I explained him the company philosophy he was so intrigued he promiced me he'll write to Sandro & Pepe to see if they'd be interested to sell them here in Torino! This is a guy who only wears john lobb shoes....

I'm not saying they are perfect, neither that the quality is the best in the world... but really for 160 euro you can't really buy anything that looks remotely that nice! Off course If you can go for C&J ... but if you are like me and you can't afford to spend much more than 200\250 euro on a pair of shoes there isn't anything like it!

How is your paypal working? I got the receipt email from paypal but the money has not been deducted from my account yet. Is that normal? I figured the delay may be due to currency or international payment but no I'm worried something went wrong.

yes it is, but it hasn't yet showed up in my transactions records for half a day.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Monkeyface

When did you order them? I ordered dark brown loafers on March 17, but haven't heard since. I'd like to get an idea of how long I'll have to wait for them.

i ordered mine on the 29th March. As i said i only received the payment email, in the orders page on the meermim site it mentions nothing else. good luck hopefully yours comes through soon.

So how does Meermin sizing compare to AE, specifically the AE 5 last? If I'm a 10.5 in AE 5 lasted shoes, what size am I in Meermin? As I can't seem to find a pair of Park Avenues that don't suffer from the dreaded bowing/gaping issue around the ankles, I'm considering a Meermin black captoe. What's the difference between the 101198 and 101273? They look identical to me. Anyone have some pics in the wild? What's the current wait for Meermin shoes delivered to the U.S.? Lastly, it recommended to buy shoe trees from Meermin, or source them elsewhere? I've read that importing shoe trees to the U.S. can cause delays in customs. If not Meermin shoe trees, what brand is recommended?

So how does Meermin sizing compare to AE, specifically the AE 5 last? If I'm a 10.5 in AE 5 lasted shoes, what size am I in Meermin? As I can't seem to find a pair of Park Avenues that don't suffer from the dreaded bowing/gaping issue around the ankles, I'm considering a Meermin black captoe. What's the difference between the 101198 and 101273? They look identical to me. Anyone have some pics in the wild? What's the current wait for Meermin shoes delivered to the U.S.? Lastly, it recommended to buy shoe trees from Meermin, or source them elsewhere? I've read that importing shoe trees to the U.S. can cause delays in customs. If not Meermin shoe trees, what brand is recommended?

Thanks for the info!

I bought the same size as my AE 5 last size and they fit similar in length--though I wear a whole size down from TTS in the 5 last which may not be terribly common.

So how does Meermin sizing compare to AE, specifically the AE 5 last? If I'm a 10.5 in AE 5 lasted shoes, what size am I in Meermin? As I can't seem to find a pair of Park Avenues that don't suffer from the dreaded bowing/gaping issue around the ankles, I'm considering a Meermin black captoe. What's the difference between the 101198 and 101273? They look identical to me. Anyone have some pics in the wild? What's the current wait for Meermin shoes delivered to the U.S.? Lastly, it recommended to buy shoe trees from Meermin, or source them elsewhere? I've read that importing shoe trees to the U.S. can cause delays in customs. If not Meermin shoe trees, what brand is recommended?

Thanks for the info!

I believe most people wear 1 size down from US size for most Meermin lasts, aside from 'New Ray' which is half a size down from us.

I am assuming you are looking at the two black oxford captoes; One is a 'stitched and reversed' style, where the uppers are stitched and then flipped over to cover the stitching. Other than that they are identical.

Can't help you with pics.

Anywhere from 10 days plus shipping to 3 months plus shipping.

The Meermin trees, reportedly, fit reasonably well. However, lots of people are having problems importing them into the US, and are getting more fees/longer wait/more paperwork while they sit in customs.

I've had no problems with standard split toe Woodlore trees. They have a couple of different styles if you find one doesn't fit as well as you'd like.

And any comment on the New Rey last in terms of sizing? I am a UK7.5 or 41.5 across the board with the exception of some footwear being 41 or 42. I think I am a pretty standard US8.5

My feet are comfortable in a 8.5D AE Leeds FWIW and I am considering just going with a UK7.5 in the New Rey last. Good or bad idea? Leeds is pretty forgiving.
I also take a UK7.5 in the Loake's chukka boot.

edit:
I am looking for a dark brown cap toe and from the RTW lines offered, the latter more expensive line offers a much darker, richer pair of cap toe shoe than the former "Classic Collection" unless someone can let me know that the photos online are a bit off in color. It seems like the two last of choice is Hiro or New Rey

So how does Meermin sizing compare to AE, specifically the AE 5 last? If I'm a 10.5 in AE 5 lasted shoes, what size am I in Meermin? As I can't seem to find a pair of Park Avenues that don't suffer from the dreaded bowing/gaping issue around the ankles, I'm considering a Meermin black captoe. What's the difference between the 101198 and 101273? They look identical to me. Anyone have some pics in the wild? What's the current wait for Meermin shoes delivered to the U.S.? Lastly, it recommended to buy shoe trees from Meermin, or source them elsewhere? I've read that importing shoe trees to the U.S. can cause delays in customs. If not Meermin shoe trees, what brand is recommended?

Thanks for the info!

You mean the 5-65? If you are US 10.5 in the 5-65, you are UK 9.5 in the Majority of Meermins, possibly excluding the New Rey in which you are UK 10.

What is your last width? For US B&C lasts you should choose New Rey or Olfe. For US D everything from HIRO to AMA will most likely fit you. The Rui will most likely fit a US D width quite well too. For US E width you start being out of luck. The Rui might fit you but might also be left with only the Terry.

So how does Meermin sizing compare to AE, specifically the AE 5 last? If I'm a 10.5 in AE 5 lasted shoes, what size am I in Meermin? As I can't seem to find a pair of Park Avenues that don't suffer from the dreaded bowing/gaping issue around the ankles, I'm considering a Meermin black captoe. What's the difference between the 101198 and 101273? They look identical to me. Anyone have some pics in the wild? What's the current wait for Meermin shoes delivered to the U.S.? Lastly, it recommended to buy shoe trees from Meermin, or source them elsewhere? I've read that importing shoe trees to the U.S. can cause delays in customs. If not Meermin shoe trees, what brand is recommended?

Thanks for the info!

I emailed them with sizes I wear in common lasts, one of them being the AE 5 last. They responded to size one down from that. I am a 8.5 brannock, and 8.5 in 5 last (uncommon I know but I've been fitted by the pros). Meet in specifically said to order 7.5 so I did. I will report back when they arrive which they are saying will be in 2 weeks or less.

Wait... a HIRO 6.5 is good in length but tight in width... and you're considering taking a bigger size of 7? Clearly the last is too snug for you. Why would you even consider buying a shoe that doesn't fit? Based on what you are writing your feet are too wide for HIRO and this is something you just need to live with and use Ruis and, if it is not too snug, Amas.

Taking them to a cobbler and stretch a pair of shoes 5mm cost me 15$ and is not bad for the leather, so tell me, why shouldn't I do it?

You mean the 5-65? If you are US 10.5 in the 5-65, you are UK 9.5 in the Majority of Meermins, possibly excluding the New Rey in which you are UK 10.

What is your last width? For US B&C lasts you should choose New Rey or Olfe. For US D everything from HIRO to AMA will most likely fit you. The Rui will most likely fit a US D width quite well too. For US E width you start being out of luck. The Rui might fit you but might also be left with only the Terry.

The last and sole measurements I received from Pepe show very little difference between the Olfe and Hiro, so it seems strange to categorize one as a U.S. B/C width and the other as D. Have you noticed that significant of a difference in your experience with both?

Also, I have shoes on the Rui last and I would categorize it as on the border of a U.S. D and E width. I have a fairly wide foot for a D width and my Rui last shoes are bordering on too wide.